


Fourteen

by Ev Pocket (evpocket)



Category: Homestar Runner
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Middle School, First Crush, I didn't bother with human names for this one but it is a human AU, M/M, Sleepovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-11-02 02:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20583971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evpocket/pseuds/Ev%20Pocket
Summary: Middle school is almost over and the grad dance is coming up.





	Fourteen

Anyone over the age of fourteen would have thought that Homestar's enthusiasm was a little misplaced, but to him, school spirit was everything. He was first and foremost an athlete, and was a member of every boys' sports team that the school had, plus intramurals. He would have gladly played on the girls' teams too, if he was allowed, but as that was not the case, he settled for wearing the mascot suit for their home games.

On top of his involvement in sports, he was also the face of the student council (though, to be quite honest, he didn't do very much during the actual meetings.) He was the MC during every recital and at the monthly assemblies, and read the announcements out every morning with a rotating group of fellow council members. Everybody knew Homestar Runner, but that wasn't to say he was very popular.

Of course people greeted him by name in the halls between classes, and at recess he would be very warmly welcomed in any game of capture the flag or four squares that he asked to join. But on days when it was too hot or cold to play anything, Homestar often found himself alone while other students would crowd around picnic tables and under trees chittering about pop culture, gossip, and the latest lame school project. That changed late in the sixth grade when Pom Pom showed up.

Pom Pom had moved there from out of town, but he seemed to have no trouble making friends. It may have been in part due to his iPod touch that he would sneak out at recess so people could play phone games and listen to music, but honestly, he was a genuine person with a fun personality, and other kids were drawn to it, including Homestar. It was just Homestar's luck then, that Pom Pom was drawn to him as well.

While Pom Pom made himself at home in every clique and social group in the school, people associated him most with Homestar. The two would sit across from each other at lunch, Pom Pom mumbling replies to Homestar's silly questions. They would always pair up for group assignments too, which worked out well-- Homestar leading the duo in phys-ed, and Pom Pom taking the lead in... well, every other class.

Two years since they first met, and now it was a warm Friday afternoon in May. Eighth grade was winding to a close and with that brought the terrifying and uncertain prospect of starting high school. Homestar wasn't thinking about that though. Instead he was preoccupied with excitement over the sleepover he was going to have with Pom Pom that night. He had stuffed in his backpack his overnight kit and a big two-litre bottle of Mountain Dew, so that the two of them could walk straight to Pom Pom's house after school ended.

When they hung out it was always at Pom Pom's, who-- by virtue of having rich parents-- had a pool, and a great big flat screen tv on which they could play the latest video games together. It was after a particularly competitive game that Homestar asked:

"So, Pom Pom, who are you taking to the grad dance?"

"Who are YOU taking?"

It wasn't like Pom Pom to avoid answering a question, but Homestar didn't seem to notice anything unusual about it.

"I'm going to ask Marzipan," he replied, his chest puffed out an his voice dripping with that self assured swagger that belongs only to preteen boys.

"Didn't you and Marzipan just have a huge fight in Spanish class?" Pom Pom asked, baffled. The row had been enough to keep the two of them in at recess talking to the vice principal about conflict resolution skills.

"Yeah," he said dismissively, "She's all over me like mustard on a hot dog. So who are you going with? I heard Champeen and Folly both want to ask you..."

"I don't think I want to go with them," he shrugged, grabbing the remote to switch the TV off. "I've got someone I wanna ask though."

"Who?" Homestar sat straight up, intrigued, "What's the hot goss'?"

"First of all, stop trying to shorten 'gossip' into 'goss,' no one knows what you're talking about. Second, do you promise not to laugh?"

Homestar put a hand to his chest, a scandalized expression on his face. 

"Gasp," he said, instead of actually gasping, "Pom Pom when have I ever laughed at you? Uh, except when you've told me a joke, you're really good at that."

"Okay, fair enough. I want to ask you to the dance."

Homestar took a long swig of Mountain Dew before answering, leaving a sticky, awkward silence between them.

"Even the slow dances?" Homestar finally asked. He was imagining a typical slow dance in his head, with the boy holding the girl's waist and the girl holding the boy's shoulders. He wondered if one of them was going to have to hold the other's waist, or if it would be an all shoulders affair for two boys.

"Yeah."

Homestar thought about it. He really wanted to go to the dance with Marzipan; she was pretty, and maybe she would even give him a kiss at the grad ceremony. On the other hand, Pom Pom would be much more fun to hang out with. He remembered at the Halloween dance how Marzipan would stomp off to the girls bathroom and leave him alone every time a song came on with lyrics she didn't like. Pom Pom didn't do that kind of thing, and he had a way with words that got the DJ to say yes to whatever song you requested, no matter how rude the chorus was.

"Okay!"

"So we're dates to the dance now?"

"Yeah."

And that was that.

For the rest of the night Homestar was pretty sure Pom Pom was letting him win at Trick Attack, but the truth was that Pom Pom was so shaky with excitement and butterflies that he couldn't hold the controller properly. And by the time they finally decided to go to bed (the clock reading out 3AM,) they lay on opposite sides of the pull out bed, holding hands, and Homestar, who hadn't thought much of it at first was finally hit with the heavy realization of how right this all felt. Maybe the whole ordeal would seem silly to anyone over the age of fourteen, but to them it was everything.


End file.
